Just as He Jin was planning that morning how to slip away quietly and leave without a trace, another thought suddenly struck him.
Over the past two years, as political movements had surged, many wealthy families had fallen into misfortune. Their fortunes—and the large quantities of antiques and cultural relics they possessed—had been confiscated. Worse still, many of those priceless artifacts had ended up destroyed.
At the thought of so many irreplaceable treasures vanishing into the ashes of history, He Jin felt that before heading south, he ought to do something to protect at least some of those national treasures from being so easily lost.
At the same time, another idea surfaced.
He had taken over the original owner's body. That original Sha Zhu had been schemed against for years by Yi Zhonghai, Qin Huairu, and the rest. If he simply left without doing anything, wouldn't that be letting those "beasts" off too lightly?
Why not, while scouting out confiscated relics, also take the opportunity to retaliate against the courtyard's schemers? It could count as venting a breath of anger on behalf of the original owner.
That way, when he looked back on it in the future, he wouldn't feel any lingering guilt toward Sha Zhu.
Of course, as an ordinary, law-abiding citizen in his previous life, even if He Jin wanted revenge, he had no intention of arson or violence. Instead, he planned to use the abilities of his secret realm to stage a series of "thefts" at the homes of Yi Zhonghai, Qin Huairu, and the others who had plotted against the original owner—stripping them of their hidden savings.
Surely, that would be far more effective than any other method of revenge.
He wanted to see how Yi Zhonghai would manage his retirement without money.
And without savings, how would Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi continue playing the victim and living off others—especially if Yi Zhonghai, Xu Damao, the Second Uncle, and the Third Uncle were all equally penniless?
When Bang Geng was eventually sent down to the countryside, He Jin was curious whether Qin Huairu would still be able to support that "ungrateful wolf," and whether Bang Geng could still live as comfortably as in the original drama.
As for Xu Damao and the others—there was no need to elaborate. Even with money, their futures hadn't been bright. Without it, things would only be worse.
However, to eliminate suspicion—and to ensure that when he disappeared the investigating police wouldn't overthink matters—He Jin knew he had to act in advance. Ideally, by the time he left after collecting the relics, the courtyard thefts would already be old news.
With that in mind, He Jin willed a Rolex watch—purchased recently from the black market—into his hand and checked the time. It was nearly nine o'clock.
The original Sha Zhu had relied on his culinary skills and routinely arrived late and left early at work. To avoid arousing suspicion, He Jin had been imitating those habits as closely as possible.
Which meant that by now, aside from himself, everyone with a job—Yi Zhonghai, Qin Huairu, and the rest—had already left for work.
Of course, most households weren't like his; even if the men were at work, someone remained at home.
But He Jin believed this was precisely the best time to strike.
With the secret realm at his disposal, he could remove their hidden savings without a sound—even if someone was present in the house.
Later, when the families discovered their money gone, the fact that someone had been home the entire time would make it easy for He Jin to clear himself of suspicion. No one would believe he could empty a house's savings right under someone's nose. Even a police investigation would be unlikely to point toward him.
Having settled his plan, He Jin wasted no time. He rose, shut his door behind him, and made a show of heading to work, leaving the courtyard at a brisk pace.
After putting three to four hundred meters between himself and No. 95 Courtyard, and confirming there were no passersby nearby, he slipped into an empty alley. With a thought, he entered the secret realm.
Once inside, he immediately activated the phasing ability and quickly returned to No. 95 Courtyard.
Entering the front yard, his gaze went straight to Third Uncle Yan Bugui's home.
Although more than twenty families lived in the compound, aside from the Jia family, the three uncles' households, and Xu Damao's, the rest weren't worth targeting.
Most of the remaining residents were ordinary townsfolk who had never schemed against the original Sha Zhu.
A few had occasionally taken minor advantage of him, but in He Jin's estimation, the total amounted to only a few yuan—not worth the trouble.
After all, with the sanctimonious Yi Zhonghai watching, plus the Jia family and Qin Huairu constantly draining him, and the original Sha Zhu's shrewdness in front of outsiders, those few households had hardly benefited much.
Moreover, in the entire courtyard, only the three uncles' families, the Jia family, and Xu Damao's household truly lived well and likely had significant savings. The other families, with modest incomes and many mouths to feed, simply wouldn't have much stored away. He Jin had no interest in making a trip for a mere few dozen or hundred yuan.
Besides, if the three uncles, the Jia family, or Xu Damao lost their savings, though painful, they wouldn't starve. Others might.
He Jin had been an ordinary man in his previous life. He wasn't heartless, and he had a clear sense of right and wrong.
As for whether selectively targeting certain households would raise suspicion—he wasn't worried. Given the circumstances, it would be entirely reasonable for a thief to skip poorer homes.
When He Jin entered the Third Uncle's house, he saw only Third Aunt sitting quietly in the main room, sewing clothes.
Smiling faintly, he immediately scanned the entire Yan household with his mind.
It didn't take long to locate the hiding spots—some cash and ration coupons in a cabinet in the couple's bedroom, and beneath a loose floor tile under the bed, a hidden stash.
Upon closer inspection, the cabinet contained five to six hundred yuan in cash and various coupons. The iron box beneath the tile held one large gold bar, six small gold bars, and a thousand yuan in cash.
He Jin couldn't help but sigh inwardly. No wonder people said Third Uncle was the most calculating of them all. In the original drama, he had been the first to buy a bicycle and later a television. Clearly, his wealth was not insignificant.
Most of it likely dated back to before the founding of the new government. After all, Yan Bugui had once been a small property owner engaged in business. With his thrifty nature, it was only natural he had hoarded so much gold.
With a single thought, He Jin transferred the iron box and the several hundred yuan in cash from the cabinet into his secret realm.
As for the ration coupons, he left them untouched. They were of no use to someone about to leave—and he didn't want to be utterly ruthless.
Losing such a substantial portion of their savings would already be enough to make the Third Uncle's family heartsick.
Leaving the coupons behind could serve as a small consolation—at least a sliver of hope amid the loss.
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